The Dark Night
by AriaJack
Summary: A vignette series. Short character sketches of everyone. Including Batman, Oracle, Joker, Nightwing, Two-Face, and Robin, and Riddler. Please review!
1. Batman

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I do not own the Batman, or Gotham City.

A/N:If you think this story is good then review, if you think it's terrible then review. If you think odd then review. If you have any opinion, advice, or comment whatsoever, then review. If I get enough reviews I'll turn into bunch of vignettes. Maybe one on the Joker.

He likes dark nights. Nights when the air is so cold that it reaches his soul. Freezing it into clarity. He likes nights when the air is so still that they can't hear him, but they know he is there. He likes nights when the dark embraces him as its own. Holding him, filling him, leading him. Revealing secrets, and mysteries that only he can see. Revealing clues. Revealing answers. Leading him, teasing him. He loves the buildings that shadow him, that hide him, that watch him.

This is his city, it is a part of him. He knows what happens in it. All of it. He cares for all of it. He is a part of the city, he flies through its blood red streets. Fighting crime. Fighting the virus in the blood. The disease of evil.

It is his child. His progeny. It grows under his care. He disciplines, helps, and teaches it. He chases away those who would prey on it. The protector. He is the child of this city. Child of a blood stained street. Child of murdered parents. Child of Gotham. He is protected, hidden, trained by the city.

They are one. They are the thousands who live there. They are all. The others, in their bright costumes. They do not understand. They speak of their cities, but they don't belong to their cities. Not like he does. Gotham is his brother. A blood bond. Thicker than the earth itself. More powerful, than any Man of Steel.

He knows that when he dies, his frozen soul will lurk in the alley ways, waiting for another child, another orphan, another blood stained street. They are also one. Some day that child will be him. Will be the protector. Long after his death the new one will protect Gotham. They will be one. Their souls merged. He will be Gotham. The new one will be Gotham. They are one. What was, what is, and what will be. They are Gotham. Gotham is him. Them.

The night air rushes, teases, whispers. The time to jump is soon. The time of body and soul. Of protector and child. Of brotherhood and mystery. Of fear and silence. They are all one. You cannot stop him. No one can. For all eternity. He is the Batman. The Dark Knight. Night. Gotham


	2. Joker

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I do not own Joker, Batman or Gotham

A/N: I got two reviews, and about fifty hits. There is something wrong with this math.

to KCS: Thank you for review. It's the only reason I posted this chap.

To Violet Fire Krazed: My charming sister. I will NOT write a Harry Potter story any time soon. Thank you.

The Joker

I love jokes. Jokes are my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I even named myself after them. You are what you love after all. Do you know what the biggest joke is though? I am! Isn't that funny? Doesn't that make you want to grin like a madman? That's what it does to me. I can't stop laughing. Even when Bats is pummeling me like a piece of raw hamburger, I can't stop laughing.

Guess who the Joke is on. Guess. Guess. Guess. It's Batman! See why it's so funny? Why else do you think I call him Bats. It drives him crazy! That's the point of course. The punchline. Want to hear it? Of course you do. Why do I even bother asking? Because that's the point of a joke. But the punchline. It's a classic. Listen to this. The whole world is crazy! Isn't that great? It's true, the whole world is crazy. Except for Bats. Here's the thing. He's running around trying to save the whole world from a madman when the world is mad! I'm mad you're mad. Everyone is mad except for Bats. Which is why he needs to be driven mad! Do you see? It's a mad job, but somebody has to do it.

Here's the thing. We've got a joke, a punchline, and a victim. But somehow Bats is to slow to see the joke. No matter how easy I make it see. I've done everything to this guy. I've maimed, murdered, arsoned. Once I did all those things. That was a riot! I almost got him that time. I've done everything I can think of to drive him over the edge. But I'm not quite there yet. That's okay. I've got a new plan. It's a great plan. He won't be able to understand it, so it'll drive him crazy. Just you watch. I'll drive him around the bend. I will. Isn't that just the funniest thing you ever heard. It just tickles me to death inside. It's so funny. Heeeheeee...


	3. Oracle

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or anything else owned by DC comics.

A/N: Just one review! You people are very cruel. However, because I'm such a charming person, I've kept writing. So there.

KCS: Thanks for being my one reviewer. I enjoy your input so much that I wrote another chapter. On to the story

Did you know that the meaning of the word Oracle is Greek? It was used for prophets who were able to see into the future. I am not a prophet. If anything I am a spy. I deal with secrets as a trade. I know secret identities, secret hiding places, secret memories, secret hopes, and even secret days. How can a day be secret? The day that Batman goes to crime alley is a secret. There's just one day, when he goes there without looking for a crime to stop. That day is the anniversary of their death. I know when Hal Jordan lost his mind and began trying to recreate the universe. That's a big secret. Or the day when Batman first started collecting information on the league. That's relatively small secret. Or the day when Jason Todd died. That's a secret that only the Batclan knows. We honor him on that day. Only us.

So many secrets. Secrets everywhere. There are League secrets and Batclan secrets. There are personal secrets, and secrets that affect everyone. There are lies, and shadows. Truth's and even the occasional surprise. I know all of them. Or most of them. I know what kind of roses Bruce buys for his parents grave. I know how to take down the whole league, including Batman, if necessary. I know that Superman has only ever taken four lives. Three Kryptonians, and Doomsday. I know that if you tie Wonder Woman's wrists together she'll lose her powers. I know the special word that a little boy speaks to become a hero. That a good secret. One of the worst secrets I found out was the mind wipe. That's one that nobody got over quickly.

There's only one reason why I do it. All the secrets, even the bad ones lead up to something. I'm not sure what. I know it's important though. It's a colossal secret. Something so big that no one will know what to do with it. I want to know what it is. I'm so close. So close that I can almost feel it. Taste it. Every bone in my body shudders when I think that I'm finally there, and then realize that I'm not. I'm so close. I just need a few more pieces of the puzzle before I know what it is. A few more secrets. I will know what it is eventually. Someday soon. Or maybe not, It doesn't matter. It's out there, waiting for me to find. So close.


	4. Nightwing

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or Gotham, or anything else that is owned by DC.

A/N: Thanks for your patience I had a slight case of writers block which thankfully disappeared.

To KCS: Thanks for reviewing. As requested I have done Nightwing. I hope you enjoy it.

It's a beautiful night. One of Gotham's best. The air is still, but clear and cool. A shiver twists down his spine. He's standing on the edge of a skyscraper above one of Gotham's busiest streets. Below him, billboards flash promises of happiness and health to the hundreds of cars slowly crawling through the main streets of Gotham. Pedestrians wander the streets, going to a late night dinner, going to the movies, going to get drunk, going shopping.

The sounds drift up to him. Car horns honking, people talking, and somewhere to his right a cricket is chirping. A sudden breeze makes him shiver, soon he will leave his perch, but not yet. The smell of a street vendor's pretzels are carried on the breeze up to his nose, with them comes the scent of gasoline, pizza, and warm cement cooling in the night air. His body is tensing, preparing for the jump, the freefall.

Not yet, something whispers to him, soon. His eyes are hard to see beneath his mask, but they seem both excited and calm at the same time. His blue and black suit would identify him before the world if the could see him. Another breeze passes him and a clock tower across the street begins to chime, then to sound.

He is perfectly relaxed as he jumps off the building, arms outstretched as though he expects the wind to catch him. Perhaps he does. His eyes are closed now, the expression on his face that of bliss mixed with adrenaline. His back arched, his feet pointed upwards, diving towards the ground.

His eyes snap open. In a motion so swift it is almost unnoticeable his hand reaches for his belt, in another second a small grapple appears, shoots, and catches. He's lifting upward directly over the street. For an impossibly long fraction of the second there's a moment of pure weightlessness, of perfect peace. For an impossibly long second the world makes sense.

Holding on with both hands, muscles heaving he pushes himself forward. He lands lightly, almost too lightly through an open window into a room filled with the bleached glow of computers. It has only been a second or less since he was across the street but it could have been an hour ago. He takes a deep breath and his muscles once again relax. He smiles to himself and waits patiently for the next time.

A/N: Review, review, review, review. I need reviews to write.


	5. Two Face

The Dark Night

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I would right something about how completely pointless this whole exercise is, but I'm too tired, so… I do not own Batman, Gotham or anything else owned by DC.

A/N: I got a request for a Tim Drake so that will be coming up after this. Sorry for taking so long with this chap I've been really busy. Also if you have any requests for specific characters (Gotham based only,) then please review and tell me about it or it may not appear for a while.

To Twisted Moonlight Dreams: I liked the Oracle one too. She's a neat character. Thanks for reviewing.

To Violet Fire Krazed: My dear sister, the only reason you love the Joker chapter is because you to are crazy.:-)

To Tobias Umbra: Thanks for reading. Double thanks for reviewing.

To KCS: I'm glad you were able to review, I was getting worried there.

**Double, duet, two, twice, twins. **Help me. **Such wonderful words aren't they?** It's not my fault**. And there even better words like duplicity, or dual.** I didn't do it. **Dual personalities for instance.** It's him, always him. **Two in one, double trouble.** I don't know who, or what he is. **That's the thing.** Why does he do these things to me? **That's what separates me from the rest of the common rabble of rogues.** He's turned me into a criminal. **I don't pretend I'm something I'm not.** It's so dark here. **I'm Two-face.** I can't see anything. **That's what I am by definition.** Still, I'm not alone. **I'm a man with two different faces.** He's always there. **I'm also a bit of a backstabber in everyone's eyes.** Why won't he just leave me alone? **D.A. turned villain and all that.** He makes me do all these things. **So I'm a two-faced Two-face.** Killing, so much death because of him. **Clever isn't it?** I can't get their faces out of my mind. **I thought that up myself.** They hate me. **The thing is though that I'm only telling half the truth.** They all hate me. **If you ask Harvey over here what he thinks you'll get a whole different story.** I can hear my name on his lips. **I'm only half of him you see.** What is he saying about me. **He lost half of himself during that little acid trip he took.** I can't understand it. **Then I hooked onto him and now we make a whole, sort of, Harv doesn't really like me.** He's probably lying. **In fact, he hates me.** That's what he does, he lies, and cheats, and kills. **Hates what I've done and what I make him do.** I can't stop him. **Here's a little secret though.** He's too strong. **If he really wanted to, Harv could get rid me.** I've tried. **He could, he could just snap his fingers and start ignoring me.** Believe me I tried. **Before long I wouldn't even be there. **He always forces me back down**.** **I would just disappear.** Why does he do it? **He doesn't know that though, he has no idea how close he is to freedom. **Why won't he just let me go? **That's the only real reason I do the whole coin toss thing.** I keep hoping he'll disappear. **It keeps him quiet. **It keeps me alive. **So, why am I here?** The hope keeps me alive. **I'm here to do what I do best.** The good memories help to. **Destroy, obliterate, backstab, and divide.** Memories from before. **It's what I do, what I've always done.** Before it all started. **Well I'm off to kill someone, or two someone's.** He's going to kill you now, I can feel his rage. **See you later.** Help me.

A/N: As promised Robin will be next, If I don't get any reviews begging for a specific character after him I'll probably do Riddler. I hope you enjoyed it. Review, review, review. I cannot write except by the light of reviews.


	6. Robin

The Dark Night

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: Everyone at DC comics got brain fever and gave me the rights to Batman…. Not.

A/N: After this comes the Riddler who I've been looking forward to doing for a while, If anyone has any requests then leave them in a review box along with any comments on the story. Also, since we don't have a really reliable comic book store anywhere near here, does anyone know who or what Duela Dent is? Her name suggests Two Face was her father, but what's with the clown suit? Thanks.

To KCS: I'm glad you liked the switching POV's I really wasn't sure it would work, but people seemed to have liked it.

To Tobias Umbra: Thank you. I wasn't planning on doing either of those characters, but they are now on the list with Riddler as coming soon.

To Ella: Thanks Ella, I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Joker gives me the creeps too.

To Twisted Midnight Dreams: I'm extremely sorry that I mixed up your name and I'm sorry that Two-Face was difficult I can see how it would be a bit confusing and if ever write with that sort of style again I'll try to be more clear.

To Rachel: I'm glad you enjoyed Nightwing, and I agree with you.

Bruce told me something once. Something I've remembered ever since. It wasn't so much what he said, it was the way he said it. Like it was the most important thing in the world. It was a freezing cold Thursday night. We'd been patrolling near the harbor so I was wet, tired, hungry, and I still had a nasty piece of Algebra homework waiting for me before I could go to sleep. It must have been pretty near the beginning of my training because I remember Bruce still scared the heck out of me just by looking at me through the mask. I knew I wasn't allowed to grumble, but I sure felt like it. This was one of those nights when I seriously felt like quitting. We drove back to the cave at three in the morning. I guess Bruce could see right through me, actually I'm pretty sure that he had some sort of X-ray abilities in his cowl so if he wanted to he could probably see right through me. Anyway, I was just about to go upstairs and catch some serious Z's when Bruce called me back. I could already tell that this was going to be one of those talks where he lectured and I listened and nodded and went away still annoyed, but telling myself that Bruce was right, as usual. I sat down in the second chair prepared for a long speech, but there in front of the cold, impersonal glow of the computers, at some ungodly hour of the morning, Bruce said one of the most important things that he would ever, say to me.

"Life is only fair when you make it that way." Then he just turned around and ignored me. I was free to go. I was mad at him for a moment for dragging me back that whole ten feet to hear him say that one sentence, then I felt really guilty over that thought since Bruce had always tried to do what was best for me. To compensate for my evil thought I started thinking about what he had just said. It also meant that I didn't have to stand up and walk up all those stairs for at least a couple of minutes.

Now, I'm not sure why, but sometimes when I'm really tired, I come up with something absolutely brilliant. This was one of those times. The more I sat there and thought about it, the more it made sense. Life wasn't fair of course. Joker was still alive, Hal Jordan was dead, and O.J. Simpson was free. This was nothing new. But that wasn't what Bruce was saying. He said life was fair if you made it that way.

I hit me then. The full meaning of what he had said. You could make life fair. Life wouldn't do that on its own, but we could force it to be just a little bit more even. Joker might not be dead as was fair, but at least he was locked up, for the moment, Hal might be dead, but at least he was getting a second chance as the Specter, and O.J. might be still be free, but I know for a fact that Bruce still spends Saturday nights going over those case files and looking for a way to nail him. No, it wasn't really fair. But it was more so than it could be otherwise. That was why we were there chasing down the criminals, to make things fair. That's why Bruce, and Clark, and the rest of them did what they did. Because to see things put right, to see things done fairly was a reward greater than any other.

I did drag myself up those stairs, but while my feet were certainly heavy, my head and heart felt light as a feather.

A/N: I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish this for so long, but I had trouble forming this one in my head and a terrible time trying to find time to write it. It may not be brilliant, but I hope it doesn't disappoint. Thank You.


	7. The Riddler

The Dark Knight

The Dark Night

Ariajack

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. I do own a Batman T-shirt. That's all.

A/N: Hello, this next chapter is, as promised, Riddler. The one after this one is Penguin and I'll see if I can do a Ventriloquist one after him. I am working on limited info here so any little hints about the various characters on the schedule would be helpful. If you could just drop them and your' comments in the review box then we can all be happy. Also, one question that I hope someone will be kind enough to answer. Is Jason Todd alive, or dead? Thank You.

Riddle me this, Riddle me that, why do I wear a green bowler hat? What is green, and black, and brilliant all the time? The Riddler? Wasn't that a lovely rhyme? What's a black, and gray, and grumpy old mess? The Batman? What, just one guess? How easy was that? Would you like another? What is green, and black, and red all over? Is it the Riddler after he's met the Bat? Or is it my ugly old hat? How many times has the Riddler been beat? Why doesn't the Riddler stay in his seat? Why does the Riddler keep with the repeat?

What color is the sky? When do bats come out and fly? Is light or night? Black or blue? What time is right? When will the Batman come through? When should the Riddler not have to fear? If green is blue and black is black does the red disappear?

If it does should we leave him a clue? A riddle, a rhyme, or a hint or two? Riddle me this, riddle me that, how can the Riddler escape from the Bat? Will daytime hide him better than night? Or can the Bat see, in the daylight? Can you track down this crime to its head? Or will you find him asleep in his bed?

What is a riddle? A question? A wit? A cat with a fiddle? Or is it an answer to life's greatest game? Is it all one and the same? Riddle me this, Riddle me that, Why is the Riddler afraid of the Bat?

Okay, okay, so I'm not going to be the next Emily Dickinson. I hope you like it anyway. Review!


End file.
